MLB.com's Carrie Muskat has been covering Major League Baseball since 1981 and is the author of "Banks to Sandberg to Grace: Five Decades of Love and Frustration with the Cubs." You can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat. Here, she blogs about the Cubs.

The Yankees hope to get an answer from Joe Girardi before their organizational meetings next week. Hal Steinbrenner told Joel Sherman of the New York Post that they are eager to have Girardi stay with the Yankees.

“I told Joe that my family thinks he did a great job this year considering the adversity, which was considerable, and that we want him back,” Steinbrenner told Sherman. “We understand there are other factors out there to consider and other numbers to consider, something fair to both sides. We are talking to him. I think both sides agree — I don’t want to speak for Joe — but that something has to get done or not done fairly quickly because there is a lot of work to be done.”

The Yankees would like an answer before they hold organizational meetings in Tampa next week. GM Brian Cashman has reportedly offered Girardi, 48, a three-year contract in the $12-15 million range, which includes bonuses for winning the division and championships. Girardi’s current three-year, $9 million deal expires Oct. 31.

There are reports that Joe Girardi will let the Cubs know today whether or not he wants to be considered for the manager’s job. Girardi played for the Cubs, grew up in downstate Peoria, Ill., and attended Northwestern. But he’s also pointed out that he’s made a home in Westchester County, N.Y., and his children are involved in the schools there. His Midwest ties aren’t as strong as they were in the past. Girardi is under contract with the Yankees through Oct. 31.

Former Major League manager Manny Acta and San Diego bench coach Rick Renteria are among the candidates for the Cubs’ managerial vacancy. There were reports Monday that the Cubs front office has talked to both Acta and Renteria as they search for a replacement for Dale Sveum, who was dismissed one week ago.

Acta, 44, managed the Nationals and Indians, and was dismissed from both jobs. He compiled a 158-252 record with the Nationals from 2007-09, and a 214-266 record with the Indians from 2010-12. Renteria has spent the last two seasons as the Padres’ bench coach and was the manager for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic. He played parts of five seasons with the Pirates, Mariners and Marlins, and has managed in the Marlins and Padres organizations.

The Cubs have not asked for permission to talk to Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux, who was interviewed for the manager’s job prior to 2012.

Joe Girardi has yet to indicate whether he will accept the Yankees’ latest offer. His contract with the team expires Oct. 31.

According to ESPNNewYork.com, the Yankees have made Joe Girardi a new contract offer and are waiting for his decision. Girardi’s current three-year, $9 million contract runs through the end of October. A source told ESPNNewYork.com that Girardi may take the weekend to decide whether he’ll accept the offer. If Girardi says no to the Yankees, and the Cubs want to speak to him, they most likely would have to wait until Nov. 1. Theo Epstein has said he wants to have the new manager in place by the GM meetings, which are Nov. 11-13 in Orlando.

The New York Daily News reports the Yankees aren’t willing to give the Cubs a chance to talk to Joe Girardi. Yankees GM Brian Cashman would not say whether the Cubs have asked for persmission to talk to Girardi, according to the Daily News’ Mark Feinsand. The Cubs are searching for a new manager after dismissing Dale Sveum on Monday. Cashman has met with Girardi’s agent this week to discuss a new contract. Girardi’s contract expires at the end of the month. Girardi, 48, was drafted by the Cubs in 1986, and played for the team from m1989-92 and again in 2000-02. According to Feinsand, Girardi would return to the Yankees if given a new three-year deal. He did attend Northwestern University, but does not have the strong family ties to the Chicago area as he did in the past, plus his children are settled in New York area schools.

There also are reports Girardi could talk to FOX Sports about filling Tim McCarver’s spot. McCarver is retiring after this season.

Former Cubs pitcher Mark Prior tells the New York Daily News that after all the rehab, he’s ready to try again. Prior, 30, signed a Minor League contract with the Yankees that will pay him $750,000
if he makes the team. He will be reunited with Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who caught Prior in his debut game May 22, 2002, vs. the Pirates (a 7-4 Chicago win), and pitching coach Larry Rothschild.

“I think a lot of people wonder if I’m bitter,” Prior told the New York Daily News. “But I’m not. I’m blessed to have three healthy kids, a loving family and friends. When I was a rookie, did I have a vision of what my career would be? Absolutely. Has it gone that way? Absolutely not. But that’s life.

“I think I’ve proved, at least to myself, that I’ve been able to overcome a lot. I’m looking forward to this next chapter in my career. I knew back then that I was getting to the big leagues, but there are no guarantees at this phase … Now I’m hoping to turn the page and reclaim my baseball career.”

Prior, whom the Cubs selected in the first round of the 2001 Draft with the second pick overall, was sidelined because of bizarre injuries. He collided with Marcus Giles while running the bases in 2003, and took a line drive off his elbow in ’05. His failure to live up to the hype was often blamed on high pitch counts.

“Did I have a high workload? Yes,” Prior told the Daily News. “But did I have freak injuries? Yes. Did those have a role? Probably. Maybe not. I got out of the business of asking … I don’t think anyone has the answer. I was arguing to stay in those games. If I knew then what I know now, would I have argued? Maybe. What competitor says, ‘Take me out.’ People get hurt. It’s part of the game.”

After another shoulder injury in ’09, he decided to try rest rather than undergo surgery. He has not pitched in the big leagues since 2006 and now is projected as a reliever, not a starter.

“It hasn’t been easy,” Prior said. “I’d be lying if I said there weren’t times I said, ‘Enough is enough.’ In 2009, I thought long and hard about it. I had done everything I could for two years and it wasn’t working. But I didn’t want to be 35 and say, ‘Man, if I had given myself extra time, I could’ve gotten healthy.’ It’s worth being patient now rather than having regrets.”

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